Insight | Case Study: Multraship
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Multraship, part of the Muller Maritime Group, has been sailing the world’s oceans for over 230 years. Offering everything from harbour and terminal towage, salvage and sea towage to offshore and port services, the company prides itself on delivering the highest standards of quality and safety across its fleet of seagoing tugboats and salvage crafts.
While it operates internationally, Multraship’s salvage and offshore services are particularly popular in remote locations such as the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard, located between mainland Norway and the North Pole. These areas are known to be plagued by unreliable network coverage with vessels experiencing regular outages in satellite connectivity. Multraship recognised it was critical to bridge this gap in communication to maintain its high standards of service and safety. Not only did its fleet need a guaranteed, always-on internet connection they could rely on to operate safely, but the company also needed to support the speeds required to sustain a data-hungry operating environment.
With Inmarsat’s Fleet Xpress service, Multraship saw a direct connection between their needs today and for the future, and began a fleet-wide adoption of the industry-leading service. Delivering the high data speeds enabled by the Global Xpress Ka-band network, combined with the proven reliability of Inmarsat’s FleetBroadband L-band service, Fleet Xpress gave Multraship the perfect solution – ultra-high-speed connectivity with guaranteed 99.9% availability anywhere in the world.
Fixed monthly subscription plans provided complete visibility and control over the vessels’ costs, removing the time-consuming headache of managing data bundles or fluctuating costs. Unlimited backup with automatic switch over to L-band gave crews peace of mind that they would always be connected no matter where in the world they sailed at no extra cost. Fleet managers would never be burdened with unexpected costly bills from multiple providers as the entire service would be managed from one trusted global supplier.
High speed and flexibility allowed Multraship to quickly respond to fluctuations in customer demand. Fleets were now able to transfer large amounts of operational data back to shore with the ability to easily upgrade or downgrade bandwidth for periods of seven days or longer without extra fees. The company would also be safe in the knowledge that the service is capable of meeting future demand to support the growing use of digital applications onboard.
“Our large fleet of modern and powerful seagoing tugs operates internationally on salvage operations, deep sea towage and in offshore support. The vessels work in remote locations and reliable communications, with safe transfer of large amounts of data, is often mission critical. Good communications are vital for crew welfare as well. That’s why we chose Fleet Xpress.”
Knowing that attracting and retaining the best employees was key to helping maintain the company’s high standard of customer service, Multraship placed a strong focus on crew welfare. Fleet Xpress was a welcome addition to support its ongoing wellbeing initiatives, keeping crew connected to life back home with fast and reliable access to the internet and voice calls.
Multraship’s fleet often experienced damage from the use of large heavy weight satellite communications antennas. So, the size and weight of the hardware was an important factor in the search for a new communications solution. With a range of hardware options available, the company chose the 60cm dual antenna that would safely be supported by the mast, and compact below-deck unit to fit in the limited space in the wheelhouse.
For added peace of mind to protect their investment, Multraship enrolled in Inmarsat’s Fleet Care annual maintenance, repair and support programme. With access to a single point of contact, Inmarsat’s global service network and team of professionally certified engineers can detect and resolve equipment problems quickly and efficiently, so vessels are never left without connectivity.
